One of the most overlooked primary sources
available to historians are films. In October, the Arkansas History
Commission hopes to shed light on historic films from a number of
archival institutions around the state. On October
10 from 1-6 p.m. at the Ron Robinson Theater at 100 River Market Ave.
in Little Rock, the AHC will join with Ouachita Baptist
University Archives and Special Collections, the Butler Center for
Arkansas Studies, UALR’s Center for Arkansas History
and Culture, the Garland County Historical Society, and the
University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections, to present
historically significant films from our collections.

AHC Welcomes Amy Gragert to Our Staff

A couple of months ago we told you about the grant
that we received to take care of the backlog of newspapers that we
needed to microfilm. Part of the grant was to hire new staff to assist
with the project. We are glad to have Amy Gragert
join our staff as extra help to work on the project.

From the Director

Do you know what a SHRAB is? Or are you familiar
with the AHRAB? If these acronyms are familiar to you, it’s probably
because you have applied for a grant from the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission. The NHPRC, as
it’s more commonly known, is the grant

-making arm of the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), supporting a wide variety of projects that
preserve, publish, and promote the use of documentary sources on United
States history

News from SARA

Women Take Over Political Power In Washington!!
Well, in Washington, Arkansas, in 1934, that is. Washington
achieved national notice for having an all-female town council
and a lady mayor in 1934.

Griffin Smith, Sr., (1885-1955) was Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme
Court from 1937-1955 and an influential Arkansas newspaperman, business leader,
and attorney. He was born in DeKalb County, Tennessee, on July 13, 1885, the
son of Napoleon and Louisa Watkins Smith. He lost both parents before he turned
sixteen and was raised by a distant relative, Rutledge Smith, a Cookeville, Tennessee,
newspaper publisher who taught the younger Smith the trade.

Smith moved to Arkansas in 1911 and married Amelia Daggett (1889-1982) of
Marianna. They had two children, a daughter, Sheffield (Mrs. Drew) Lander
(1913-2003), and a son, Griffin Smith, Jr. (1915-2000).

The Smiths lived briefly in Bonham, Texas, where Smith worked as a linotype
operator, but returned to Arkansas after he became editor and part owner of the
Paragould Daily Press and the weekly Paragould Soliphone, two publications that
he eventually owned outright. When World War I broke out, Smith reported from
France to the Paragould newspapers. The Arkansas Gazette, the Memphis
Commercial Appeal, and the United Press also carried his dispatches from the
trenches.

After ten years as an editor, Smith decided to to pursue a law degree at
Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. He passed both the Tennessee and
Arkansas bar exams and then moved his family to California, where he studied
more law at Stanford University and bought a newspaper at Paso Robles. The
family returned to Arkansas in 1926 and Smith opened a law practice in Marianna.
In 1932, Governor Harvey Parnell named Smith to fill an unexpired term as
State Comptroller. Smith announced himself as a candidate for governor in 1936
but then changed his mind and instead campaigned successfully for chief
justice.

Smith was speaking at First Christian Church in El Dorado, Arkansas, when he
suffered a heart attack and collapsed. He died about six hours later, on April
29, 1955, and is buried in Little Rock's Roselawn Cemetery.

This collection consists of correspondence and other papers belonging to Griffin Smith, Sr.

57.
1919, 1922, 1931-1932: Between H.W. Caraway, Griffin Smith, and
officials from United States Treasury, United States Veterans
Administration, United States Adjutant General's Office, United States
Veterans Bureau, and American Red Cross

Thursday, September 24, 2015

In recognition of October’s designation as American Archives
Month, Governor Asa Hutchinson has proclaimed October to also be Arkansas
Archives Month.

In a proclamation signed on September 14, 2015, Gov.
Hutchinson encouraged Arkansans to “discover the abundance of documentary treasures
contained in our State’s archival repositories” and states that “through these
archives, every generation of Arkansan can study the history and learn from the
experiences and accomplishments of our ancestors.”

Arkansas Archives Month celebrates the importance of the state’s
historical records and recognizes the work done by those who maintain these
records. This year, as part of the
observance, the Arkansas History Commission and State Archives has created an
Archives Month poster and is hosting a collaborative film event, Arkansas’s Reel History, featuring
historic film footage from six archival institutions around the state. The
event will be held October 10 from 1-6 p.m. at Ron Robinson Theater in Little
Rock’s River Market.

Established in 2006, American Archives Month is observed
annually during the month of October by archival institutions around the
country. Archives Month was created with the purpose of raising awareness of
the importance of archives and the work of archivists.

“Archives Month marks the culmination of a year-long
commemoration at the Arkansas History Commission of 110 years of collecting and
preserving Arkansas history,” noted Dr. Lisa Speer, Commission Director.“I can think of no more appropriate way to
celebrate Archives Month, and bring our year of celebration to a close, than
this film festival, which demonstrates the power of collaboration when archives
work together for the common purposes of preserving Arkansas history and
promoting it to the public that we all serve.”

The Arkansas History Commission and State Archives, located
in Little Rock, is the official state archives of Arkansas and maintains the
largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world.

Arkansas’s Reel
History is funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council,
the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the
Humanities.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Randolph McDonald Smith was born December 3, 1922, at Jacinto, Dallas County, Arkansas. He was educated in public schools at Jacinto, Sparkman, and Princeton, all in Dallas County, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Ouachita Baptist College, and a Master of Arts from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. Smith became a Baptist minister in 1939, and held pastorates, taught school, and engaged in various business enterprises. He raised money to purchase the land for Central Baptist College in Conway and was first dean. Smith married Bonnie Jo Brandon of Center Point, Howard County, Arkansas, on August 15, 1953. They had three children: Marion, Linda (Krutza), Mollie (Morgan), and Robyn. Randolph Smith died in Mountain Home, Arkansas, on December 8, 2000, and was buried in Kirby's Tucker Memorial Cemetery in Gassville, Arkansas.

This collection contains letters, cards, business papers, church bulletins, sermons, obituaries, and educational and employment records dating from 1939-2000.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Samuel Green Daniel was born November 2, 1867, in Sedalia, Missouri,
the son of Mr. and Mrs. William P. Daniel. When still a youth, he
settled with his parents on a farm on the Middle Fork of the Little Red
River near Leslie, Searcy County, Arkansas. He attended grade school in
Searcy County and medical school in Louisville, Kentucky. He married
Malissa Hannah Bratton on May 24, 1896. They had four children.
Daniel
practiced medicine in Marshall, Searcy County, Arkansas, for fifty
years, 1892-1942. His large two-story residence near the public square
was one of the most prominent structures in town. He died October 1,
1958, and was buried in Marshall Cemetery.

This collection consists of Samuel Green Daniel's professional records
of accounts, plus some personal records. The ledgers also contain
information on births, deaths, et cetera.